U.A.E. Says Oil Collapse Will Force All Producers to Cap Volumes

The oil-price collapse will compel all producers to freeze output and no early OPEC meeting can take place without such a move, the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said. “This is the reality,” Suhail Al Mazrouei said Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. “Current prices will force everyone to freeze production; stubbornness doesn’t make sense.” Saudi Arabia — the world’s largest crude exporter — Russia, Venezuela and Qatar have proposed that producers cap production at January levels to bolster prices that have tumbled almost 70 percent in two years. OPEC member Iran, which is ramping up output following the removal of sanctions in January, has said the plan is “ridiculous” and saddles it with “unrealistic demands.”